Does the question beg that if RVP were still on the field of play, would he have bagged the chance Bendtner missed at the end?
Stoop is correct, the best teams do not always win and Barca could have had a thousand chances but if they don't hit the back of the net and your one chance does then they lose.
Arsenal will still be the nearly team again this season mainly due to the fact that we need to buy quality in the January window. This has been the case for a few seasons, Wenger is right not to buy in the summer but he always misses his opportunity in January because he is stuck in his ways and belief that the young boys will one day prove everyone wrong. The young players do fine but they also need a couple of proven experienced players to nuture them through winning a cometition, time to wise up Arsene.
John Terry, David Beckham, & William Gallas, any one of those could install belief and take charge which would prove good for the gunners.
Only my opinion